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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29785656">Life Before the Ocean</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blurple_bird_human/pseuds/Blurple_bird_human'>Blurple_bird_human</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Young Justice (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Backstory, Dolphin is her BABY, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Headcanon, Hurt/Comfort, Nobody is telling me otherwise, Self-Indulgent, Sha'Lain'a is a good mom, TW: Death mention, Twins, no beta we die like jason todd, she's adopted a stray, sibling angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:49:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,046</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29785656</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blurple_bird_human/pseuds/Blurple_bird_human</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sha'Lain'a has two children, and she knows much less about her youngest than she realizes. So, on a hard day of the year, Dolphin unexpectedly needs someone to lean on, and her adoptive mother is right there. Confused, but there.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>(mentioned) - Relationship, Dolphin &amp; Sha'lain'a, Kaldur'ahm/Wyynde (DCU), Sha'Lain'a &amp; Dolphin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Life Before the Ocean</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've been intrigued by Dolphin since I first saw her introduction and I still am. This fic is my headcanons about her and my genuine love for the Durham family.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dolphin--that was her name now, not Prisha anymore--watched as the fish swam by the living room window. They always looked strange. No matter how many months she'd spent in Atlantis, and no matter how hard Kaldur teased her for it, she would always think that those skinny purple fish were creepy. Like mosquitoes from back on the surface.</p><p>But looking at the creepy, ugly purple fish would always beat thinking about today's date.</p><p>Fuck, somebody was staring at her.</p><p>"<em>Ma, </em>I'm fine," She said, turning around.</p><p>Sha'Lain'a had been looking at her like a kicked dog all morning--not that Sha'Lain'a knew what a dog was, and Dolphin had always been more of a cat person anyway. </p><p>"No, you're not, talk to me." Sha'Lain'a was sitting on her bed now, hair tied out of her face in a bun so tight it almost seemed to drag her eyebrows higher up. </p><p>"Have I ever told you where I was from, before I ended up in that warehouse in Cuba?" She asked, already knowing the answer. </p><p>Sha'Lain'a shook her head, gesturing for Dolphin to continue.</p><p>"I...I was---<em>I am </em>a twin, my brother's name was Vivaan. We're both from this tiny town in central India--it was different from Atlantis. Very different and--" She paused, swallowing. It was hard to tell if she was crying now, being surrounded by water, but the lump in her throat was big enough to gag her. "My mother died of illness when we were infants, so I was raised by my father and his family. We...uh...once, my brother and I...well, first I need to tell you that I was a little idiot and he wasn't--"</p><p>"I'm sure that's not true," Sha'Lain'a chuckled.</p><p>"I once sneezed so hard that I smacked my face into the desk and passed out." </p><p>"Okay, you surely couldn't have prevented--"</p><p>"I put a light bulb in my mouth once."</p><p>"Neptune's---<em>Why?"</em></p><p>Dolphin swallowed back a giggle. "Because my uncle told me it was a bad idea."</p><p>There was a short pause, and Sha'Lain'a was at a loss for words. Instead of actually replying, she just gestured for Dolphin to keep talking. If Dolphin didn't know any better, she'd assume that Sha'Lain'a didn't want to hear anymore.</p><p>"My brother and I were in this park, sitting in this..." she flailed around, wondering how she was going to explain trees to a woman who'd lived her whole life underwater, "in this <em>park, </em>and this older man comes up to us. He knew the family, but not well. He was...I don't know, a friend of a friend of a cousin or something. He said he knew that my father had lost his job, and he'd give us some money to fix his lawn. Like I said, tiny Dolphin was a little stupid, so I jumped on the opportunity. My brother...he hesitated, he told me it was a bad idea and...I should've known, too."</p><p>Sha'Lain'a was cupping her face in both hands now, "Dolphin, what happened?"</p><p>Dolphin wanted to shrink, and shrink out of existence. But, here she was, stuck with her adoptive mother staring right through her. "He ended up dragging us both off while we were debating it," Her voice shook, "and...then we ended up in the back of his car." </p><p>Sha'Lain'a definitely just wanted to keep her talking, considering the fact that she didn't ask what a car was. Or a tree. </p><p>"He had us both trapped and he took us to the parking lot of some store, I didn't even recognize it. My brother unlocked the car door right as he was coming back and--he--the--in," Dolphin looked up to meet Sha'Lain'a's gaze, taking her hands like they were the only thing tethering her to reality. She wanted her mom. "I went home alone that day, when my father finally found us. And I had to tell my family what had happened. It...it broke my father, losing his wife, then his son. He was never the same."</p><p>"I can't even imagine," Sha'Lain'a agreed, tucking a strand of Dolphin's hair behind her ear. "I'm so sorry, child, I really am. No one deserves that. No one. I don't care if you were stupid or...whichever word you want to slap onto it, that was awful. And it wasn't your fault."</p><p>She looked like she'd just been punched in the stomach. </p><p>And now Dolphin's head was in her chest.</p><p>"I...we were eleven, then. Four years ago today, I lost my brother."</p><p>Sha'Lain'a's chin settled on her head, holding her in a bone-crushing hug on the bed. "It wasn't your fault."</p><p>"I'm still a twin," She said, even though Sha'Lain'a had said nothing to contradict it. She had to say it, after all the times it had been denied. "He's still my brother and I was born a twin. I'm not an only child. I'm not."</p><p>"No, you're not," Sha'Lain'a agreed.</p><p>They stayed like that for a long moment, in a hug so tight Dolphin couldn't tell if that was her own leg or Sha'Lain'a's, rubbing up against the side of the bed. </p><p>"Hold on for a moment, you were eleven four years ago? Then, you're fifteen...so why didn't you tell me when I signed you up for school?"</p><p>"You were really excited to have all the registration paperwork done, I didn't really have the heart to tell you that you signed me up for classes of seventeen-year-olds...besides, being able to do work that's two years above my grade level must look really good on college applications."</p><p>Sha'Lain'a paused, beaming at the sight of Dolphin's smirk, and punched her in the arm. "Fine, it'll be our secret."</p><p>"Not really, Kaldur already knows."</p><p>"What? Why didn't <em>he </em>tell me?"</p><p>"Well, firstly, because he thinks it's hilarious, but also, bribery."</p><p>"What did you give him?"</p><p>Dolphin snorted. "I told him that I'd hide the engagement ring in a new spot in their apartment every morning before school, so Wyynde doesn't find it and spoil the surprise."</p><p>"I shouldn't be as proud as I am. Now, come on, we have plenty of leftover sweets from last week and you could definitely use something sugary and bad for you."</p>
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